n Tesco has muscled in on the Wrigley-led chewing gum and breath-freshening strips markets with new own label products.

n Its peppermint and spearmint gum, produced in Denmark, comes in boxes of 20 tablets, retailing at 51p each. The fresh breath strips are made in Korea and retail at 72p - 2p less than Wrigley’s Extra Thin Ice product.

n A spokesman for Wrigley said it welcomed the competition. “This is an attractive business and the acceleration of sales growth has been driven by Wrigley’s new products.”